A persistent drought in Southern Africa has heavily impacted water-based tourism activities in the Okavango Delta but tour operators report wildlife viewing is extraordinary as a result.
Professor Joseph Mbaiwa from the University of Botswana, told Tourism Update that Botswana is at the beginning of a low flooding pattern, which could last for the next 10 years.
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Wilderness Safaris and Botswana Footprints report that some water activities have been affected, but expect the situation will turn around.
Tara Flory from Botswana Footprints, says at the moment boating and mokoro activities have been stopped in most areas as there is either no more water left, or the water is packed with crocodiles and hippos.
“Water levels in the Okavango Delta are currently low for this time of year. This is the result of low levels of rainfall locally with all seasonal swamp and floodplain habitats receding to the permanent channels like the Boro," says Chris Roche, Wilderness Safaris Chief Marketing Officer, "Boating activities have understandably been affected in most areas." For guests travelling to the Delta within the next few weeks, Roche advises travel specialists to check which camps their clients are visiting to ensure that their clients’ expectations are met, especially if they are still hoping to experience water-based activities such as boating, mokoros and barges.
"This low local rainfall notwithstanding, rainfall patterns in the catchments of the Angolan highlands and resultant river flow strongly suggest that the annual inundation this year in the Okavango will in fact be higher than that in 2014, and possibly also than 2015," says Roche. "Accordingly the core water camps of the Okavango will very likely offer excellent water activities by boat or mekoro and we don’t expect any dramatic impacts of the El Nino effect on tourism or tourism activities in the peak season.” Flory adds that the Delta is currently rising around 7cm per day, so that tourism activities will be scheduled as normal within the next couple months.
Flory says it is important that tour operators explain that the Okavango Delta is one of Africa’s last wildernesses. “The Delta has hundreds of different faces. Wetter ones, drier ones, and lots and lots in between. Every single season has its very unique upsides,” she says. “We can only guarantee that it will be wild, untamed, untampered with, that it will be ‘the real thing’.”
The drought also brings new opportunities in the Delta, says Flory. She says the game is more concentrated as the water levels drop, and the sightings can be more varied and exclusive. Likewiese, Roche says: "Populations of large mammals have followed in the wake of this ebb and game viewing has been very good as a result of the concentration around remaining water."
Map Ives, Botswana’s National Rhino Coordinator and Wilderness Safaris Environmental Manager, explains the grazing ‘lawns’ that occur around the floodplains of the Okavango and Linyanti systems become incredibly valuable and he has noticed an increase in buffalo, lechwe and other grazers as well as their attendant predators along the edges of the islands and land masses.
“There are some wonderful Cynodon grazing areas along the drying channel flanks which makes for much better game viewing than when the channel is full. In summary, the dry spells up here are as important to wildlife as are the so-called wet spells, with the animals utilising the environments in different ways,” adds Ives.
